Why did she come here? There's nothing on this planet of any interest whatsoever, at this point, it would be better if she tried to get off it, problem was, there was nothing of value she could get her hands on so she could sell it for money, and then, use said money to leave.

If nothing else, at least this place seemed peaceful, which was a change of pace for a change, no bandits, no outlaws that tried to steal her stuff nor kill her, somehow it was nice.

Still, for as good as it looked, there was nothing for her here, the people of the planet didn't seem to own much of anything, that was precious that was, and the rest, they were monks, she doubted they had much more than the civilians.

However, there was a woman that caught her interest. She often saw her around the markets, she too wore a long coat, similar to the monks she had seen, yet, it didn't look like she was one of them. From what she heard, the monks here were non-violent, but, she had what it looked like to be a combat suit of some sort, and even had tattoos on her left arm, blue ones, such a weird choice for a religious person. Often she held a really pretty looking Maliwan gun too, and SMG, corrosive from the looks of it, in yellow and blue colors. She was no pacifist, Ava decided, perhaps a protector of sorts? Doubtful, given how peaceful Athenas looked like, but it was true that the people here seemed to think highly of her from the way they looked at her in awe.

If there was anything to get, it was that gun, or if not, she could try and reach for that book the woman always carried around, the one attached to her belt, it had to be important if she always had it on her, and looked easier to get to.

She would be lying if she didn't feel intimidated though, the woman held an aura of mystery around her, and there was such confidence in the way she walked, she had the stance of someone that wouldn't bow her head to anyone nor anything. But, if she wanted to get away from here, she had to try, she dealt with bandits before, she could deal with a single woman.

Ava walked around the market, blending in with the other people present to not look suspicious, currently, the woman she looked for, had her back on her, and was busy talking to one of the monks, perfect. She would have to be quick, walk up to her, get the book and run while she was distracted, easy.

She did exactly that, but as her fingertips barely touched the cover, she was swept from her feet and lifted up in the air by some unknown force. There was a blue aura around her, she seemed to be trapped in something, but, it didn't hurt, she could not move however.

She took notice of the woman's strange markings glowing faintly, she was still turned away but her left arm was held high in the air, unlike before. Just, who the hell was she? What was she even? Panic settled in her chest at the woman turned around to face her.

Maya had always been prepared to face everything through her entire life, ever since she was born, and even more during her experience on Pandora, but, she wasn't quite ready to see what she saw now.

She was used to see thieves and ill intentioned people even here on Athenas, they showed up even there sometimes, and when that happened, she took care of them without much thought. But, she had quite expected to see a child, in fact, she did not expect it at all.

She saw the monk she was talking to open his mouth to say something, she held out her free hand to stop him, and with the other, she gently lowered her Phaselock down to ground level, before releasing the child she had trapped. All under the kid's terrified gaze. Maya inwardly sighed, she didn't care when her enemies were scared of her, she loved it in fact, but this was just a young kid, she hated having that effect on people sometimes.

Crouching in front of the cowering child, she gave her a good look. At first glance, she didn't appear to be any older than Tina when she met her the first time years ago, early teen years she assumed. Her clothes were dirty and ruined, and she looked like she didn't have a proper bath nor a meal in a long while, something like this wasn't common occurrence on Athenas, it was on Pandora, not on her home planet. Whatever happened to this kid, it was clear that she was a survivor of some tragic occurrence, which would explain her need to try and steal her stuff, she needed money to survive another day. In a way, it was somewhat similar on how life was on Pandora.

Putting on her kindest and best smile, she thought it would be better to try a nicer approach, she had already scared her after all, and she didn't mean to.

"What's your name?"

The look she received was of shock and confusion, perhaps the kid wasn't expecting it? She had done many questionable things in the past as a Vault Hunter, but she would never harm a child, even as outlaws, they had standards, all of them.

"A-Ava..." she stammered. Maya nodded at her.

"I'm Maya." she said, still maintaining the same approach as before.

The Siren turned back the the monk she was speaking to earlier. "We should take her to the monastery, it is clear that this child hasn't received an act of kindness in a long time. She could use a warm meal and a bath, perhaps new clothes too."

He nodded at her, scratching his chin. "I have nothing against it, but some Brothers might disagree."

Maya huffed. "Let me take care of them." she turned back at the child.

"Say, are you coming with us? I won't accept a no." she extended a hand towards her, the gloved one, just to be sure. Not everyone was keen to touch Siren markings.

She saw hesitation, but eventually, the kid reached out for it, she nodded to the monk and they headed back to the monastery, walking in comfortable silence the entire way back.

The trek was relatively long, with the monastery being atop one of the cliffs, and Ava felt like her legs were hurting, as if she had run too much. Nonetheless, the woman, Maya, kept her word, the monks were curious, but they seemed to accept her presence, most of them at least, a few held a hostile air around them, but they said nothing about it.

Maya instructed the man accompanying them to warn their cook to make something up for them both, apparently, when they met, the woman had just finished a training session. Make sure its fitting for a child, and make them generous rations, she had said.

She lead her to the main bathroom right after, which Ava was sure was the biggest one she had ever seen, and prepared a warm bath for her, telling her that she could use anything she needed, before leaving her to her things, and thoughts.

Ava relaxed in the tub, warm water soothing her skin, she honestly couldn't remember when she had the luxury to even wash herself properly, it had been long.

As she washed herself, her thoughts drifted back to Maya. Her first impressions about her had been correct, she was a strong woman, and she was respected, she was also scary though, what were those powers she had? Why were her tattoos glowing the way they did when she held her high in the air? However, for a scary as she was, she also looked very kind, for all the time she had been roaming around places, she hadn't met anyone that was willing to help her out, nobody seemed to care that she was just a child, alone, struggling to survive, she was just a thief for everyone. Maya didn't seem to care about said fact, she was the opposite of all those people, well, at least she appeared to be, judging from her words. So far, she could give her the benefit of doubt.

Speaking of Maya, she reappeared not too long after, it looked like she had washed herself too, as now she wore regular clothes and a towel around her neck, and, speaking of clothes, she was holding some too, probably for her.

"These were mine of when I was younger, they were all I could find that could fit you." she said, placing them on one of the cabinets, they were black tights, a black tight shirt and jeans hoodie, not too bad, and certainly better and cleaner than what she had before.

Still, Ava frowned at her. "Why are you helping me?" she asked, she didn't mean to sound ungrateful, but, she had to know.

Maya just shrugged. "Why shouldn't I?" she replied, passing the towel on her hair to dry them more, only now Ava noticed they were only long at the front.

"Look, I don't need a reason to help anyone. You looked like you needed it, badly, simple as that. Even if I don't know you, it doesn't take a genius to see that you had it rough." she continued.

"Most people wouldn't think the same as you." she shrugged again. "I am used at being different kid." she sat on the edge of the tub. "Its a harsh world out there, and if I have to be honest, you would be better off with someone that can look after you, and teach you how to survive."

"And that person would be you? No offense, but you don't look much different from these monks here, you just have weird powers, what do you know about survival?" Ava frowned, crossing her arms.

Maya laughed. "I know far more than what you believe." she said. "Of course, you're free to leave whenever, but you are also free to stay too."

"The monk of before said that some of the others might get angry."

The Siren scoffed. "They won't dare go against me, don't worry about them, they will stay in their place." that sounded like a threat, thankfully it wasn't directed towards her.

"Food will probably be ready soon, I'll wait for you outside." she left without saying more, and Ava wasn't going to argue against the possibility of getting a free meal. Even if she couldn't quite understand why Maya was doing this for her, was it pity? She hoped not.

It didn't take long to dry herself off and dress up in the new clothes, the hoodie was a bit long, but the rest was fitting enough. As promised, Maya was outside waiting for her to lead her to the dining area.

There was a really large table there, with lots of chairs around it, Ava assumed that when they ate, the monks did it all together, given the size, it looked like it could fit a lot of people at once. She chose one of the chairs at random and sat down, waiting for Maya to return from the kitchen.

She came back with two steaming plates of what it looked like soup, yet the vegetables looked like they were finely cut to super tiny pieces, also there was rice and potatoes in it too, it looked weird, but it smelled fantastic, and Ava was starving. She would have eaten a ratch if she had to.

Wasting no time, she grabbed a spoon and dug in, still being careful to not scorch her tongue though. It warmed her up from the first spoonful, this was the most delicious thing she had in forever.

She heard Maya chuckle next to her as she ate too, she was watching her, and was probably happy to see her eat, she wasn't about to let a free meal go to waste after all. They both ate in silence, Ava noticed that Maya was left handed, she had never seen one before, also, weren't guns for right handed people? She was curious to see her in action with one to see how she did it, she knew she had a weapon, a pretty one, how could she manage? But, that would mean staying, and she wasn't contrary for the moment, but something told Ava that some of the monks weren't happy with her presence though.

Her suspicions proved to be correct when one of them came storming in, raging all over.

"Who the hell is this? I demand an explanation!" he shouted, making Ava shrink in her chair, wishing she could blend with it.

She saw Maya get up from her own seat, slowly, somehow, despite the aura of calmness she displayed, it was clear that she was pissed.

"Is there a problem Brother Sinon?" she crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.

"Who gave you permission to bring a thief here?" there was the thief thing again, weren't monks supposed to be merciful and understanding?

"She's a kid, and she needed help, and she's staying for as long as she will want to." she walked over to him, still somewhat calm, but Ava noticed the light pulse from the markings at her side.

"Unacceptable! Don't you have some respect for us?"

"Don't you dare talk of respect to me!" Maya finally snapped. "You have no right to do so after what you've done! None of you do. She is staying here, whether you like it or not, is that clear!?" she glared. He growled at her but didn't respond. "Now leave, your presence is not welcomed." she spoke with such coldness that Ava shivered just from the sound. Nonetheless he left.

Maya gave a huff, before returning to her seat and finishing her meal, Ava didn't dare to ask, not wanting to risk getting caught in her wrath again, though she was curious, did something happen in the past between them?

Ava jumped at the sound of Maya's voice, she had returned to her normal self but, it didn't make her any less scared at the moment. "I'm sorry, what?" she had missed the question too.

"I asked if you were still hungry, there's more if you want." she wanted to say no, but her stomach growled, the first helping, though it was good, was not enough, she did not eat much like... forever.

"I'd like a bit more yes." she shyly said, fiddling with the hem of the hoodie. Maya nodded as she went to get a second plate for the both of them. "Don't be afraid to ask next time." she said as she put the plate in front of her again.

"I uh... thanks." she blushed.

"Don't mention it."

Once full and happy, Maya took her to her room, where she said she had the monks put a mattress on the floor until they found a proper space for her to stay. She couldn't wait to get some much needed rest, but as soon as she reached to the mattress, Maya stopped her.

"Is there a problem?" she asked, confused.

"None, but, you sleep there." she pointed to the bed next to it, her own bed. "Are you sure? I slept on worse before."

"So did I kid, don't worry for me and rest up all you need." Maya nodded at her.

Ava eased herself into her bed, it was soft and warm and vaguely smelled like lavender. She saw Maya head over to the desk across the room, picking up a book to read, there were plenty she noticed. She didn't have time to look around too much, as exhaustion took over and she fell asleep.

When she woke up again, it was plain night, she had slept a long time, she noticed Maya being asleep on the mattress on the floor, all curled up and tangled in a blue blanket. Her markings were glowing softly from under the cloth, mimicking the rhythm of her breath as she slept.

Ava still asked herself what she could be, she had never seen a woman with such enchanting tattoos on her, she guessed she could ask in the future.

Thanks to Maya, today she had felt better than what she did in ages, she was clean, sated and well rested. Perhaps staying on Athenas with her for a while wouldn't be so bad.